Afraid of Pollution: Where to live in HK

[chateau]

I just wanted to add my tuppence worth! Last year, through most of the summer my job took me all over Hong Kong driving. Most of the driving was on the island but in a day I could cover the length and breadth of the territory several times. Now this is only my experience but it's all I have!!

I was always amazed at how much hotter it felt in down-town Kowloon, by which I mean TST/Mong Kok and so on and how filthy the air seemed kerbside there, especially on hot days. The same goes for central, and I mean Central, because Happy Valley, for example, and even Mid-levels didn't seem as bad, in fact, as most HKers know, the further you go up the Peak the cooler it seems to get and the fresher the air seems to be.

Even in down-town Yuen Long I can really smell the diesel fumes at street level in the summer and my throat feels irritated.

Maybe somebody is going to tell me that this isn't the harmful pollution but if it's true that pollution is the same everywhere in Hong Kong then I will live in the polluted bits that don't stink and make me want to gag, ie, Central, down-town Kowloon and the heavily built up urban areas...

I agree - some parts of HK feel much cleaner than others. Those people who tell you "its all the same across HK" are either saying this out of ignorance, or perhaps to help make themselves feel better for living in a polluted area. Even in the same building, there is a noticable difference, with the higher levels getting better air than the lower levels, which have a more concentrated level of "roadside pollution". Its for this reason that I mentioned earlier that islands and places like Sai King and the Peak have better air quality.

[gilleshk]

Its for this reason that I mentioned earlier that islands and places like Sai King and the Peak have better air quality.

While this may be partially true in higher traffic area, it's certainly not always the case and that is clearly indicated by the air quality stations peppered around the island.

Today which is a holiday with less traffic, it's worth noting that Central had the second lowest level in HK.

The fact that the air is cooler doesn't make it cleaner...

[bryant.english]

Today which is a holiday with less traffic, it's worth noting that Central had the second lowest level in HK.

Why? In case none of us had established a link between higher levels of traffic and pollution? As usual, I must thank you again for your very useful and enlightening contribution

[anothercanuck]

i think the advice about certain places being 'better' than others can apply on a fairly benign weather day or sometimes after heavy rain (clearly Central/TST/Kwun Tong etc will be heavy in roadside pollution most days) but when we get things like inversion, pushing all the particulate crap down into a blanket covering HK from shore to shore, with the accompanying red sunset at 4pm, it doesn't matter where you are...in other words, OP, consider the advice as a 'best case scenario' only, but don't expect sparkling clean air in any particular place here...

[gilleshk]

Why? In case none of us had established a link between higher levels of traffic and pollution? As usual, I must thank you again for your very useful and enlightening contribution

Well it does seem like you need a bit of help since you equate the air "feeling" fresher as you go up hills and lower pollution which is clearly not necessarily the case. It just so happens that in some areas like Central, the main cause of pollution may be from vehicle emissions while in other areas it comes from above.

I'm more inclined to believe in the EPD pollution sensors than in your nose... Go right ahead and fill up those nostrils with Ozone, Nitrogen and Sulphur dioxide instead of suspended particulates. It's so much fresher...

[Creative83]

I certainly hope the guy's profession is in languages or that he can afford to devote all his time and effort in them, otherwise with the average human's limited capacity and resources, 1) it is highly unlikely he is as good in any of the six languages (speaking, reading as well as writing) as an proficient unilingual, and 2) he would have just wasted precious time and resources in something that will ultimately contribute to divide, rather than unite, the EU (actually it's already happening which puts EU at a comptetitive disadvantage compared with North America or China).

It's always interesting to hear people claim they speak six or seven languages but they never identify specifically what those are. To be able to speak languages from completely different systems/parts of the world is a much higher achievement than someone who can speak a group of similar local languages (e.g. Latin, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Cantonese, Shanghainese, Fukianese, etc) which require much less effort to learn.

Regardless of whether his profession is in language or not, it's his time. He can do whatever he wants with his time and you're definitely not the judge to tell him whether he's wasting time or not. More importantly you assumed he's not proficient in any of them.

The fact is that he can speak 6 languages.

You are allowed to promote the benefit of being uni lingual if you so wish to, but to argue against someone who is multilingual and list the disadvantage of it is a bit much. There are clearly more advantages to learning multiple languages than sticking to only one.

Globaltraveler is not responsible for uniting European Union. Much of the prosperous countries there resent losing the power to make decision such as the inability to refute forced immigration. Economic advantage is no more important than cultural identity. One can say he's slowing the process of losing cultures there.

[Freetrader]

The fact is that he can speak 6 languages.

Too bad one of them isn't English.

[bryant.english]

Well it does seem like you need a bit of help since you equate the air "feeling" fresher as you go up hills and lower pollution which is clearly not necessarily the case. It just so happens that in some areas like Central, the main cause of pollution may be from vehicle emissions while in other areas it comes from above.

I'm more inclined to believe in the EPD pollution sensors than in your nose... Go right ahead and fill up those nostrils with Ozone, Nitrogen and Sulphur dioxide instead of suspended particulates. It's so much fresher...

Gilles, on this site people often slag each other off about not properly reading each others posts before responding. With you, it is such a regular occurrence that I can only conclude, and have before, that you are a kind of troll.

What I said, and I'll try to make it clear for you Gilles, if pollution is the same everywhere in Hong Kong, then I will live where the air feels better, smells fresher, whatever....

[Mat]

I'm sorry, but that is an unbelievably stupid comment. What does it mean, exactly, that "Germany is very clean"? Germany is the workshop of Europe (and good for the Germans, by the way). But the idea that you can have industralization without pollution is ridiculous. Please learn how to have an adult discussion.

From DE news:

Europe's Worst Pollution Pocket Found Above Western Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 19.03.2008

I am no expert but if I click on the link you posted above, it seems to me that Munich is close to the green area (less pollution), while Amsterdam...are in the red (high pollution), demonstrating that Munich isn't that much polluted (as compare to many other european cities, such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt..)

[paenme]

Regardless of whether his profession is in language or not, it's his time. He can do whatever he wants with his time and you're definitely not the judge to tell him whether he's wasting time or not. More importantly you assumed he's not proficient in any of them.

The fact is that he can speak 6 languages.

You are allowed to promote the benefit of being uni lingual if you so wish to, but to argue against someone who is multilingual and list the disadvantage of it is a bit much. There are clearly more advantages to learning multiple languages than sticking to only one.

Globaltraveler is not responsible for uniting European Union. Much of the prosperous countries there resent losing the power to make decision such as the inability to refute forced immigration. Economic advantage is no more important than cultural identity. One can say he's slowing the process of losing cultures there.

Isn't it the premises of a forum like this to provide a platform for people to express their opinions? So we are only "allowed" to give the advantages of our favored positions without providing disadvantages of the opposing positions? We have become a society that shys away from the facts, speaking the truth and sharing what we really think because we are so worried about hurting other people's feelings.

Anyone is entitled to spend their time on multiple languages if they so choose and I am entitled to my opinion that it is a waste of time. Cutural diversity/variance is usually a great thing, but languages are one exception. The disadvantages of the various languages far outweigh the benefits. As I said before they serve to divide, rather than unite, people which much more likely lead to wars/conflicts when compared with countries/groups sharing the same language.

"There are clearly more advantages to learning multiple languages than sticking to only one"? This is only true if you can master at least one language (that is, native level and measure up to the best users of that language in speaking, reading as well as writing). The majority of the multilinguals cannot accomplish this due to limited human capacity and resources, just a factual observation.

"Economic advantage is no more important than cultural identity"? This is the sadness of human nature, we all want to grab on to what we are familiar with, however useless/divisive it may be/become at the expense of overall human advancement/progression. If the average EU citizens don't care about uniting EU for greater economic (and beyond) benefits, so be it. More competitive advantages for the rest of us.